The treatment is being trialled to help patients with antibiotic-resistant sinus infections—with the two compounds included in a wound-healing gel.

“The treatment is locally applied at the infection site, precisely where it is needed without interfering with the entire body,” says Dr Richter.

“In our studies so far, we haven’t observed any side effects. Moreover, the risk for resistance is low as bacteria are unlikely to become resistant to their preferred food.”

In the future, Dr Richter hopes the therapy can be refined so it can also be used to treat other superbug infections.

The team are recruiting patients with chronic recurring sinus infections for the trials.

“We are hoping that this treatment will improve the quality of life for patients after sinus surgery,” says the trials’ principal investigator Professor Peter-John Wormald. Professor Wormald is an ear, nose and throat surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and chair of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Adelaide.

“By better treating the bacteria causing their infections we hope to extend the period of time patients are symptom-free, and potentially reduce their need for further surgery.”

Dr Richter completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide in 2017. Her doctoral research was partially funded by The Hospital Research Foundation. She is now continuing this research as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Adelaide and the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research. Dr Richter recently won the Pitch it Clever Delegates’ Choice Award at the 2018 Universities Australia Higher Education conference.

Dr Richter was the South Australian winner of Fresh Science, a national program that helps early-career researchers find and share their stories of discovery.

In 2017 Fresh Science celebrated its 20th birthday, and ran in every mainland state with 140 early-career researchers nominating for the five Fresh Science events held in 2017 in Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.

Fresh Science South Australia was supported by the University of Adelaide, the South Australian Museum, Flinders University, the University of South Australia and New Scientist.